but they had been drained and filled
in when the city bought the land for
a park.

The students, along with an adultteam, began exploring how they couldrecreate the wetlands on this land nowowned by the city. Their inquiry led toseveral years of sustained interactionwith city officials, the writing of smallgrants, and the eventual creation ofwetlands that have begun to filter atleast some of the two million gallonsof water that can flow off this 40-acremowed park. Most recently, childrenfrom the preschool have partneredwith a nearby elementary school toplant a permaculture garden, includingfruit trees and berries, on the hillsidenext to one of the wetlands.

Children’s QuestionsLead to Action

The creek-based lessons—and the
preschool’s impact—didn’t end at the
borders of the park. A few months
after the first wetlands had been
constructed, a former preschooler
expressed concerns about road salt
because it “runs off the road and into
the creek and hurts the little creatures.” Not knowing how to explain
the potential enormity of dealing with
such a problem, Jeannine asked the
child if she had an idea of what to do.

After a thoughtful pause, shereplied, “I think we need totalk to the boss of salt.”Jeannine and her formerstudent drafted a letter to a cityadministrator at the watershedcouncil and sent a copy to thelocal newspaper. The city adminis-trator thanked them for the letter andencouraged them to share any ideasthey might have, because he and hiscolleagues were also trying to figureout ways to minimize the negativeenvironmental consequences of roadsalt. After the letter was publishedin the newspaper, a professor at theUniversity of Michigan began using itin his courses to demonstrate to hiscollege students what effective citizenparticipation looks like, and that it canstart very early.

The impact of learning experiences
like these can ripple out in unexpected
ways. Jeannine found out later that
the letter had also influenced the University of Michigan to reduce their
road salt use by half and to step up
their research into alternatives. And
even years later, the children who
took part in this process didn’t forget
the value of their involvement. One of
them is now a state representative.

Global Problems,Local Solutions

Author David Sobel has written that
engaging students in local problem
solving can play a crucial role in
the development of environmental
stewards. He argues that if teachers
only focus on global environmental
issues like climate change or ocean
acidification, there is a good chance
that their students will become afraid
of the natural world, something he
calls ecophobia (Sobel, 1999).

To counter ecophobia, Sobel advises
teachers to provide their students with

Left and previous
page: Students from

Ypsilanti High School
and a partner from
Summer’s Knoll plant
trees on their campus.
Above: 1990’s Blossom
Preschool students
observe the water flow
of Malletts Creek.

Even years later, the children whotook part in this process didn’t forgetthe value of their involvement. One ofthem is now a state representative.